


Best Served with Honey on Top

by Claudina



Series: Home is Where the Honey is [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: I hope it's sweet enough to rot your teeth, M/M, Semi-AU where things don't go to hell, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 00:09:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10887801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claudina/pseuds/Claudina
Summary: Goro Akechi might be a detective who was supposed to be immune to life-shattering confessions, but nothing in his life prepared him for the bomb Akira just dropped on him.“What do you mean you don’t like pancakes??"





	Best Served with Honey on Top

**Author's Note:**

> First thing first: thank you so much for reading my Persona 5 fanfics and leaving kudos! :) I can't thank all of you enough for the support. I hope you enjoy this one as much as you do the others; in case you missed the tags, please know that the setting here is pretty much a semi-AU where everything was peachy and fine because a little sugar doesn't rot anyone's soul, right? Anyway, happy reading, and as always, feedback will be cherished and loved abundantly! :)

With its quiet atmosphere and laidback vibes, Café Leblanc was never a contender for a place of discovery, but today, Goro Akechi found himself unearthing one of the most astonishing information he had heard this entire year.

“What do you mean you don’t like pancakes?” he asked, eyes wide open, jaw slightly parted in half-shock and half-disgust. The black-haired boy behind the bar just shrugged, obviously unaffected by the ace detective’s blatant dismay.

“They’re…okay, I guess,” Akira replied, still maintaining a casual tone on the issue. On the other side of the counter, Goro looked like he just swallowed a spoon whole, his handsome face contorted in disbelief that someone could actually lack passion about pancakes.

The final drops of the coffee Akira was brewing dripped into the carafe, leaving a crater in the powder sitting in the top jar, and Akira set the burner aside before disassembling the instrument and poured the liquid out. He then placed the cup in front of Goro, who was still mulling over what seemed to be the shock of his life.

“What’s so bad about pancakes?” the brunette demanded, still unable to accept the statement without further explanation. Evidently, this was a case that warranted further interrogation.

Akira pinched his chin between his fingers and contemplated. A while later, he tried offering an answer, feeble as it was, “They’re pretty doughy.”

That was not an argument that would hold water, and Akira wasn’t surprised when Goro’s brows furrowed even deeper.

“Doughy?” Goro questioned incredulously, as if he had just been informed that the sun rose in the west and that the earth was flat.

Akira was flummoxed. Well, technically, pancakes were cakes, and it shouldn’t be surprising to describe cakes as doughy, should it? He then tried his luck again, “You know, they can be…rather dense sometimes.”

As he sipped on his drink, Goro peered up at Akira, the cup he was holding masking everything but his eyes, and advised, “You should try the fluffy tower pancakes, then. Those are really light—none of these doughy problems you’re talking about.” He raised one eyebrow to add emphasis to the recommendation.

Akira just nodded, still amused that Goro took such an offense to what was usually a harmless opinion. Who would’ve guessed that ace detective Goro Akechi was a die-hard pancake fan? If people only judged him based on his calm, composed and collected charades, nobody would ever dare to dream of discovering this side of him. However, Goro usually left his cookie-cutter 3C façade by Leblanc’s front door along with his coat whenever he stepped in, and thus, Akira had the pleasure of watching Goro behaving abnormally—which meant him behaving in a more normal, more human way—whenever he was within the confines of Leblanc’s walls. To be honest, it was a treat that was even better than pancakes to see Goro being so animated.

“You just haven’t met a pancake that you like.”

“What?” Akira snapped out of his thoughts and stared at Goro, who was looking at him determinedly.

“I just need to introduce you to great pancakes; those will change your mind.”

Akira had always known that Goro’s thoughts always ran at a faster speed than others’, but he didn’t expect the brunette to arrive to this conclusion within less than a cup of coffee without even consulting him once. Before he could even formulate a polite counter-argument, Goro set his empty coffee cup on the saucer with a firm thud, startling him.

“Meet me tomorrow. I’ll bring you to one of the best pancake parlours downtown.”

Goro then placed some notes and coins to pay for his drink and stood up, deftly collecting his briefcase and coat before disappearing into the night. Akira could only sigh and rub his head. And so, that was the start of their long list of pancake dates.

 

* * *

 

“This one's really great,” Goro commented, his voice muffled by the chunk of pancake he was chewing in his mouth. This was the fifth time they combed the impressive list of eateries in Tokyo to search for a pancake Akira would like, but it didn’t look like the quest would end any time soon. Akira speared a slice of pancake and soaked it in some syrup before taking a bite; the pancake was delicious: soft and fluffy with a slightly toasty skin that tasted slightly of caramel, and to Goro, it was a tasty, mouth-watering treat. However, to Akira, it was just another forgettable piece of confectionery—or at least that was how it seemed to be, judging from the lukewarm expression plastered on his face.

“Still not liking it?” Goro probed curiously while cutting another slice of pancakes from the jiggling tower on his plate.

Akira swallowed the pancake and commented, “It’s all right.”

All of the pancakes they had eaten had been just ‘all right,’ and it honestly frustrated Goro. He had wished so hard for Akira to find one which would finally made him smile in pure appreciation when he ate it, but thus far, every single one of the pancakes had been met with tepid reactions. Still, Akira always polished them off the plates without complaining, and Goro thought that he should at least count that as a small progress, albeit not a victory yet. He thought he was the picky eater, but after finding out about this, he was sure that he had competition.

Still, the search for pancakes continued, though it became more complicated as they crossed out places after places on their list. They had even tried multiple taiyaki and dorayaki places, and although some of them had better offerings, those were still not enough to make Akira’s eyes sparkle in delight when he bit into the sweet treats. The night after they ate at the last place Goro could think of, Goro reviewed his list and sighed dejectedly. He had exhausted all his options and he couldn’t help but feel sad that he wasn’t able to introduce Akira to one of the few joys he knew in life. He fell unceremoniously on his bed, one arm covering his eyes, his heart whispering to his brain to calm down. It was probably very childish to be upset about this, but he couldn’t help it.

That was until he remembered something.

Almost immediately, he jumped out of his bed and grabbed his coat. It was nearly eleven at night, but that was what the convenience stores were for. Goro jogged towards the nearest convenience store and ran to straight to the aisle he was looking for. He then texted Akira on his way back once he got what he wanted.

_‘I’ll drop by Leblanc after closing time tomorrow. Prepare yourself.’_

He couldn’t help but smile at the vague message he left for Akira. He was sure that Akira would be only mildly confused by the surprise, but nonetheless, it was still amusing to imagine how his eyes would glance sideways in befuddlement.

Tomorrow would be a wonderful day. He was sure of it. He dropped the loot he got from the convenience store on his kitchen counter and tucked himself in bed before falling into a surprisingly peaceful sleep.

 

* * *

 

When Goro dropped by Leblanc after leaving him an ominous message the night before, Akira had never been gladder that Sojiro didn’t stay at the café.

“This is my last resort, you know,” Goro commented as a white stream of flour poured into a bowl in front of him. Akira sat on one of the chair, watching Goro with wild eyes full of wonder. One, it was weird to see Goro wearing an apron and two, he couldn’t help but feel a little touched by the amount of effort Goro was putting into this mission.

Goro added other ingredients into the bowl and then, he whisked the batter methodically using a spatula. Behind him, the pan heated up on the stove, and once the batter was ready, he glided over to the stove and dropped a knob of butter into the pan. It sizzled almost immediately. A sweet smell quickly filled the air as the batter hit the hot butter.

A while later, Akira was presented a tower of five warm pancakes, slathered with dripping honey and a slab of butter on top. He then cut a piece off the top layer and brought it to his lips while Goro watched nervously.

“How is it?” Goro asked, his voice lacking his usual confidence.

There was a pause before he had his answer. “It’s delicious,” Akira said, a small smile playing on his lips as he chewed on the pancakes.

It wasn’t as grand as Goro had hoped it would be, but evidently, Akira liked the pancakes he cooked. Akira Kurusu, at the tender old age of sixteen, finally came to the same page as he did on the topic of pancakes, and that was quite an achievement on Goro’s book. He almost banged the pan in rejoice, though instead of celebrating with an elaborate fanfare, Goro fidgeted on the spot before muttering shyly, “It’s my mother’s secret recipe; one of the few things I still have of her. I’ve never shared it with anyone else, so…I’m glad you like it.”

Akira nodded in silence. For a while, there were only sounds of fork and knife clanging against the plate as Akira worked on the pancakes.

When the tower was down to the last layer, Akira looked up at Goro and said, “Can I share a secret as well?”

“Yeah?”

Akira motioned for him to come closer, and when Goro was right in front of him, Akira lowered his voice and confessed, “The truth is that…I’ve always loved pancakes.”

Goro’s eyes widened in disbelief and he blurted out, “Why, you—“

Akira lifted his fork, placing a piece of pancake right in front of Goro’s lips. At first, the brunette hesitated but eventually accepted the bite. Akira’s eyes softened and he said, “It’s great, but it’s better when it’s made by someone you love. Don’t you think so?”

Goro involuntarily blushed. Akira laughed heartily when he saw Goro covering his face with his hands to hide his embarrassment.

“You know what’s even better?” Goro finally retorted after he somewhat calmed down. Akira looked at him curiously.

“What?”

“Serving them with honey on top.” And then, as if on cue, they closed the gap between them and met halfway. The sweetness on their lips melted under their shared warmth.

When they finally parted, Akira stared into Goro’s eyes and tucked a piece of caramel hair behind his ear. He then smiled, their lips still barely touching, and whispered tenderly, “Honey, I know.”


End file.
